When Internet satire gets passed off as "truth"

The website Mr. Conservative ran a post headlined, "Obama Admin. Hands Out Pamphlet: “What To Do When The Veteran In Your Classroom Attempts A Mass Shooting."

Sometimes a story is so outrageous, the old journalist’s saying goes, that it’s "too good to check."

There’s been a lot of that going on recently.

Today, we checked the claim — made on the Mr. Conservative website and then elsewhere in the blogosphere and on social media — that the Obama administration is handing out a pamphlet titled, "What To Do When The Veteran In Your Classroom Attempts A Mass Shooting."

It sounds shocking — but some quick Googling enabled us to find the source easily, a website called the Duffel Blog that offers satirical articles to servicemembers and veterans.

This is only the latest claim we’ve checked that began as satire but was transformed by social media into "truth."

Other satires by Semmens that went viral as "truth" included one thatclaimed in a hearing, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., had suggested to Gen. David Petraeus that the Army "put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output."